The Top 10 "MUST HAVE" CL Modifications
 

I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of lists people would come up with and why they chose the mods they listed.

This is assuming that you have a bone stock Acura CL with no mods.

Well prob most popular are:

Intake, exhaust, headers, springs,shocks or coilovers, sway bars, strut brace, wheels, and supercharger hehe

-brake upgrade
-pulley's
-lip kit
-roof spoiler

#1 Lower the car. Should be done before anything IMO

The car is a pig and you'll notice the most difference in improving the braking and handling characteristics. If I were to start fresh I'd do it in following order:

BBK
Coilovers
Sway Bars
Header
Intake

After that depends how much you want to spend. These should be a standard though.

For a 6MT:

1 - PSpec short shifter
2 - Corsport shifter bushings
3 - Syncromesh tranny fluid
4 - Headers
5 - Intake
6 - 2.5" exhaust
7 - Drop it
8 - Wheels
9 - BBK
10 - TL lip kit

For 5AT:

1 - Swap in 6MT.
2 - Follow steps 1-9 on the list above.

HAHAHA

the 3 minimum for me is

Headers
Drop
BBK

lol IMHO

Headers is NUMBER 1.... 20+ hp for a single bolt on is a must.
intake
BRAKES (all around.. pad and rotors at a minumum)
option underdrive pulley
progress rsb
MOOG end links
exhaust

those are the MUST HAVES in my experience now that I've owned a stock CL-S 13 months ago and now it's modded to the tits now.

I didn't choose that order but looking back that would be the exact order.

MY order of mods (main mods... not little things, to the best of my knowledge) however are/were:

injen CAI
option underdrive pulley
p2r plenums
p2r throttle body spacer
Progress RSB sway
Ebay mesh grille
Moog end links
p2r thermo gaskets for tb and manifold
DBA fr, EBC rr.. Adaptive One pads (napa)
Comptech Headers wrapped with DEI
Comptech front sway.


the best mods for the money ARE:

option pulley about 10hp for 70-80$ (including belts)
headers 20+hp for 400-700 (depending on brand and condition)
CAI intake 10+hp (i'd buy one used if i could find one)
Progress RSB (car feels like a WHOLE NEW VEHICLE) my most impressive mod for sure... right behind the option pulley.

I hope this helps

FYI

headers is like adding the biggest smile on ur face I SWEAR TO GOD it did for me!!!

intake... nice sound.. meh

option pulley... omfg what a difference all around. I am astound it made more of a difference than the intake.. MY WORD.
people think differently tho cause the sound makes them feel like they are going way faster... as sexy as that sound is

Supercharger only good if your auto. After my 6mt swap, I wanna sell my ctsc for a turbo setup.

you mean that SC is better for auto ? why ?

and when your are going to sell it :wish:

Oh really?
|
v :D

correct me if i am wrong but u don't need (tho it would help) a tune to run a supercharger ??? just the FPR ... if you are running 8 psi or less.

or is it more complicated than that?

Yeah because those transmissions are just scattered all over like condom wrappers on a playground.

IIRC 04-06 TL 6MTs are the same, so youre not looking for just one model year with limited production.

You could also pick up an Accord tranny and buy the LSD elsewhere.

About #4.. If getting a set for a 6MT was easy I probably would have them by now. Does anyone actually make these anymore?

comptech does or u'll have to find some used comptechs or used xs headers.

or get any set and cut the pipe on the rear header that needs to be modified and geter welded up

The top 10:

1.) Lowering
2.) Brake Rotors
3.) Rear Sway Bar
4.) Exhaust
5.) Headers
6.) Ice Box
7.) Crank Pulley
8.) Wheels and Tires
9.) Motor mounts
10.) RWD

Still, I really dunno how common or uncommon manual transmission TLs are.

Also, I heard with the Accord trans you have some fitment issues.... afaik. Just heard that if you swap in an Accord manual trans, it's really more work than it's worth.

Everything in my sig plus better motor mounts/radius rod bushings are essential.

And if I can find a suitable donor 6mt, that too.

Because when you step on the clutch, the bov go pssssst. And the auto tranny can't handle a turbo imo. As if our tranny doesn't suck enough, I believe gear ratio would be a factor in denying a turbo it's full potential. 3rd gear auto = 4th gear manual. In otherwords, auto = turbolag.

Don't need a tune if you are running 5psi pulley. 8psi you need to change voltage clamp to either (ct suggest 2.88, members here 2.7-2.8) On top of that, emanage is a cheap insurance to make sure you run correct AFR. If you can afford 4grand for FI, dump an extra $500 for a piggyback. It really isn't hard to tune a car once you play around with it a little.

Right now I use rc440 w/ emanage blue, no problems... but my luk clutch/ flywheel is slipping. I have a cm stage 3 sitting next to me tho.

I've been trolling that thread :run:
But I want a new pc :pc:

LOL . . . Better mounts . . yep if we can ever get a working set they would be on my top 10, maybe even top 5.

My :2cents: on brakes is that the OEMs are weak and an upgrade is a top 10. However I'm not a fan of BBK . . . they add unnecessary weight which negatively impacts acceleration, steering and braking feel and or response.

Ruf

That is part of why I went RL aluminum calipers. They are lighter than stock.

I can't tell the difference between my bbk and my oem except that I stop sooner.

Rotora bbk front, 2pc rotor
rotora rotor rear /w teflon lines.

#1-Acurazine stickers, after that who cares.

6 speed
1. drop
2. FULLL exhaust (headers, cat, pipes, muffs)
3. tires
4. Rotors and pads
5. synchromesh
6. valve adjustment
7. intake
8. Mounts
9. engine dampener
10. pulley

It's all subjective.
I would only do 2 things if I did it over.
Headers
Good tires in 235-45-17.
I wouldn't touch anything else.

PCs dont make awesome pssssssshhhhhhh noises. ;)

debadge
intake
drop
rims
custom front grille
headers
exhaust
tint
audio
steel braid brake lines
back window spoiler

How do you do #10 and is it possible in a automatic base model?

If you have to ask then you most likely will never do it. Only 1 person so far has ever done it and the car isnt street legal. On a side note anyone else notice this has turned into a thread of ppl listing the mods they have done.

^ lol yea it has. I didnt do the lip kit.








Yet.

Haven't had the chance to put my 01 5AT CL-S under the wrench yet but if i had the $$$
(and this is based on what i've seen and researched so far...)

1) Drop (Full coilover setup w/tophats preferably Tein SS-P or KSport Control Pro'z AND Rear camber kit)
2) Brake upgrade (Rotors, SS Lines, and padz)
3) Wheel/Tire setup 235/40/18 wheels take ur pic...
4) Headers (CT or XS)
5) Intake
6) upgrade factory sways and strut bar
7) TL Lip kit conversion
8) Sarona Rear Roof spoiler
9) 6MT TL or Honda Odessy Trans swap
10) CT S/C setup

and depending on what yr u have I'd also do
11) 03 blk housed headlights
12) 03 tailights

and Audio is a MUST for these cars IMHO with that crappy 1ohm Bose setup!

lol i happen to think the sound system is damn good... for a stock 2001 ride... the system was definitely ahead of its time

I have no problem with the speakers themselves. I think you just need to replace the headunit to take better control of the equalizer. I havent replaced the stock speakers yet because they sound pretty good, and until they blow I wont put my Infiniti's in (which says alot, because the Infiniti Kappa Perfects are IMO the best speakers out there).

Ahead of itz time...ehh maybe but damn good i'd have to disagree on that looking at it from an upgradeable standpoint.

Which headunit did you upgrade to and did your CL come with the factory Navi?

No factory navi (and Im glad).

I got a Pioneer Avic F90bt. Its not bad but its definitely not the greatest.

Guys this isn't list every mod on your car, it's list the top 10 mods you would choose for your car

03 cl-s 6mt
 

If brakes are next.
Go with a cross drilled rotor set up and ceramic pads.
Rotor will run cooler and stop beter.
ceramic pads will have very low brake dust and their quiet.
Also you can get a whole cheap brand set up for $160.